As you gear up to enjoy the summer, the IRS has a message: Don’t let down your guard.
The agency recently released its annual “Dirty Dozen” tax scams, a kind of “worst of” fraudster guide for 2022. As it has done for more than 20 years, the IRS highlights the most prevalent scams and schemes to raise awareness among taxpayers and the professional tax community.
Almost immediately after COVID-19 hit, criminals went into high gear, using the pandemic to steal money and identities with bogus emails, social media posts and unexpected phone calls.
The scammers started by using Economic Impact Payments (aka stimulus checks) and continue to promote the scam by texting, calling or emailing unsuspecting taxpayers, luring victims with promises of securing more money from the government.
Even though most taxpayers who were due payments have already received them, the offer of additional money has prompted people to provide personal information, like Social Security numbers and bank-account details.
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